SAILING:IRISH SAILING is on a crest of a wave thanks to outstanding performances from two youthful single-handers, one at Olympic and the other at international junior level.
Both Annalise Murphy’s Olympic qualification result in the Laser Radial on Wednesday and Sophie Browne’s Optimist result from the Trofeo Ciutat de Palma on Tuesday are massive confidence boosts for women’s sailing here.
The results are also a shot in the arm for junior sailing too, given Ireland hosts the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) Youth World Championships on Dublin Bay in eight months’ time.
Although mixed scores from the ISAF Worlds in Perth yesterday means it will be difficult for Murphy to be in the medals on Sunday, the 21-year old is fifth overall, an important result the bodes well for 2012.
Without any fanfare, Sophie Browne, aged 14, returned to school in Tralee this week after taking fourth from nearly 400 entries at a significant pre-world championship regatta in Mallorca.
She flies out to contest the Optimist World Championships in Napier, New Zealand in 10 days’ time.
There is no surprise Murphy performed in the Fremantle doctor, it was blowing hard, exactly the kind of conditions that has made the 6ft 1in helm a world class act. This week so far has been a replay of the heavy air performance in July when the UCD science student picked up a bronze medal at the Olympic test event in Weymouth. Now, after another of string of wins at the Swan river venue, the Dún Laoghaire rookie has officially qualified for the Olympic regatta in the Laser Radial, taking Ireland’s first Olympic sailing slot at Weymouth.
She follows in her mother’s footsteps, Cathy MacAleavey, who sailed at the Pusan Games in 1988.
It’s a turnaround in sailing fortunes and small wonder why it prompted the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) to declare sailing as a medal prospect for London in seven months’ time. Murphy’s result takes the ISA declaration one step closer.
It’s a far cry from four years ago in Qingdao where a single top-eight result was the stated goal. And it was not achieved.
Meanwhile, in Palma, and against a fleet of 386 Optimist dinghies, Browne finished fourth overall on Tuesday and showed the Fenit sailor is on the pace for New Zealand.
The result is not her first international success either. The top-ranked Irish Optimist single-hander was first girl and seventh overall out of 450 boats at the French Open National Championships at Plérin.
In Australia there’s more to come at Olympic level at the ISAF worlds with another hotly tipped Irish boat, this time in the men’s keelboat class. The Peter O’Leary and David Burrows combination are in action in the Star keelboat on Sunday.
On Dublin Bay, Over 80 boats are contesting Dublin Bay Sailing Club’s turkey shoot series on Sundays.
In dinghy news, Noel Butler and Stephen Oram continue to lead the Fireball division of the Dún Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club Frostbite series, with Kenny Rumball and Dave Moran/Connor Kinsella second and Andy Boyle/Barry Hurley/Brian Flahive third.
There are two races left in the series – December 11th and 18th – before the Christmas break.
Six times Dublin Bay Mermaid champion Roger Bannon has published a Boat Preparation, Set-Up and Handling Guidefor the clinker-built class. The guide details set-up and sailing techniques and is due to be published on the class website: www.dublinbaymermaid.org
HIGHS AND LOWS IN PERTH: Murphy slips to fifth place
AFTER WEDNESDAY'S high that saw Annalise Murphy qualify for a Laser Radial place at next summer's London Olympics, yesterday saw the single-hander lose some form at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Perth, writes David Branigan.
Wearing the silver medal logo on her sail as the overnight number two in the 50-strong Gold fleet, Murphy’s first race of three for the day ended with a disappointing 37th place. A second result followed with a recovery to 17th, while the day ended with a more typical fourth. Although recovering half a dozen places in a flurry of boats crossing the finishing line in the opening race, her previous lowest result in the series was a 30th that was previously discarded but is once again counted, meaning the Rathfarnham sailor has dropped to fifth place overnight.
A further two fleet races will be sailed tomorrow that will decide the overall standings for the Gold fleet, with the top 10 sailors progressing to a medal race decider on Sunday. Leading the class is Belgian world number two Evi Van Acker, who discarded a 19th yesterday but otherwise has all top four placings from the eight races sailed.
Elsewhere off Fremantle in the first of two weeks of world championships for the Olympic disciplines, Ger Owens and Scott Flanigan are still within range of qualifying Ireland for the 470 class though must place in the top 19 nations by tomorrow’s final fleet race. The pair were 34th overall but 23rd by nation. A further seven places will be decided in the new year.
In the Finn single-hander, Ross Hamilton was 65th overall, racing in the Silver fleet, while British legend Ben Ainslie has a fight on his hands in third place as Giles Scott holds second place to Poland’s Pieter-Jan Postma.
